County: Galway Site name: CULLAIRBAWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA084-118 Licence number: 03E0016
Author: Tom Rogers, Moore Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 549455m, N 728525m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.304597, -8.758351
Monitoring of topsoil-stripping took place ahead of the construction of 27 semi-detached houses with associated services and driveways at Cullairbawn on the western edge of Athenry, Co. Galway, during January 2003. The development is close to an ancient trackway, recorded as terminating slightly to the west. The site comprises four small pasture fields, bound by stone walls and poplar trees, which surround the former town rectory.
The footprint of all houses, roads and services were stripped of topsoil, a mid-brown silt with infrequent rounded stones up to 40mm. Beneath this was a yellow sandy subsoil which appeared largely in the north-western half of the site. This overlay a silver-grey boulder clay with angular limestone gravel and larger sub-rounded boulders. Evidence of small-scale quarrying was present, in the form of several large sub-square dips in the natural subsoil, up to 9m long and 6m wide. These were filled with topsoil and contained modern glazed pottery and modern metal objects. The footing of a levelled drystone wall was also noted, but nothing of archaeological significance was recorded.
Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Galway
